Engine starting apparatus



mm 9 136.. R P. LANSING zmmfi ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 28, 1951 IN V EN TOR, Raymond F. Lemmy BY 542M A TTORNEY Patented Feb. 25, 1936 wUNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS Raymond P. Lansing, Montclair, N. J., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Eclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 28, 1931, Serial No. 565,646

13 Claims. (01. -41) 'I'hisinvention relates to engine starting apparatus, and particularly to means for imparting initial rotary movement to a crankshaft or similar member of an internal combustion engine by the application thereto of energy stored in a manually operable member such as a spring or group of springs.

I n One .of the. objectsof the invention is to pro- Vide a novel manually operable engine cranking mechanism in which the cranking energy may bestored in a much shorter period of time, and by a simpler manipulation, than is usually necessary,

f Anotl 1er object of the invention is to provide novel resilient means in. which energy may be stored. for performing thework of. cranking an internal combustion engine.

A further object isthe provision of novel starting mechanism particularly adapted for cranking small engines or those in .which the cylinder compression is such as topermit starting in response toa relatively small number of fairly rapid revolutions of the engine crankshaft.

, .Another object is to provide in a starting mechanism of the foregoing character novel means .engageable with the memberto be rotated to apply starting torque thereto during oscillation in one direction and to permit over-running between these'two members on each return swing of the oscillating member.

These and other objects of the invention, such astheprovision of a device which is compact, inexpensiveand readily installed on engines now in use, will appearmore fully uponconsideration of the following detailed description of the invention as concretely exemplified in two embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration only and is'not designed as a definition'of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended.

claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an end view in elevation showing one embodiment of the invention applied to an internal combustion engine;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation with parts broken away and sectioned, the view being takenat right anglesvto the view point of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3; is a diagrammatic representation of another formof the invention.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the embodiment therein shown comprises resilient cranking means preferably taking the form of 'a leaf spring 5 suitably anchored, as indicated at 6, on a bracket 1 projecting outwardly from a plate 8 bolted or otherwise suitably fastened to the engine housing 9, the spring 5 having secured to its lower end a sector H having gear teeth I2 adapted to mesh with the teeth of a spur gear I 3 suitably mounted for operative connection with the engine crankshaft l4. Near one end of the sector II is provided a handle I6 by which the operator may swing the spring and sector from the normal position indicated in Fig. 1 to the limit of its oscillatoryrange when it is desired to crank the engine.

In order to transmit to the engine crankshaft the energy expended by the spring during each of the several successive oscillations which will result on release of the handle l6 as the sector ll arrives at its outer position, the invention involves the provision of an over-running clutch mechanism interposed between the gear l3 and the crankshaft l4. As shown, such a clutch mechanism is applied to the reduced end It of the crankshaft, and comprises preferably a collar l 9 keyed thereto, as indicated at 20, and having a plurality of radially spaced projections 2| forming pockets 22 between the collar l9 and the inner surface of the gear I 3 (which thus constitutes the outer race of the over-running clutch), a series of rollers 24 being provided in the pockets 22. By tapering the pockets 22 as indicated it will be evident that the usual over-running action will be obtained when the gear I3 tends to drive the collar IS in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, while a positive drive is established under reverse rotation. Thus it will be evident that on release of the handle l6 after movement of the sector II to its extreme left hand position, the initial swing of the sector to the right will be effective to rotate the crankshaft, but on the return swing resulting from the resiliency of the member 5, no torque will be transmitted to the engine crankshaft. Successive oscillations will occur, thereby causing sufiicient rotation to insure starting of the engine under its own power; but ordinarily the first sharp swing of the sector will be sufficient.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 there is provided a supplementary lost-motion mechanism to facilitate manual operation by permitting a more uniform and continuous application of cranking effort. As shown in this figure, there is secured to the engine-engaging sector H a rigid pendulum 30 pivoted to a support 3|, as indicated at 32, and adapted to be influenced in its oscillations'by a pair of leaf springs 33 and 34 fix d on opposite sides thereof, as indicated at 35 and 36, the former being of the greater length and resiliency, and normally engaging the pendulum 30 below its central point as indicated at 31. Intermediate its ends the pendulum has pivoted thereto a link 40, the opposite end of which is enlarged and apertured as indicated at 4| to receive a pin. 42 connecting the link with an arcuate slot 43 of a length corresponding to slightly more than a semi-circle, the slot being formed in a gear 44 rotatably supported on a shaft 45 having suitable bearings not shown; the gear 44 meshing with a pinion 46 manually operable by suitable handc rank 41. I

In the operation of the structure shown in this second embodiment, the parts are moved from the position of rest indicated in Fig. 3 by rotation of the handcrank 41 in. a clockwise direction, such rotation causing a counter-clockwise rotation of gear 44 and a resultant movement of the link 40 from the position shown in full lines, to that shown in dash lines, such movement causing the pendulum 30 to reach the limit of its swing to the left as determined by the radius of the arc on which the slot is found. Spring 33 is now effective to return the pendulum 30 and sector II to the right, with a snap action which imparts a cranking impulse to the engine crankshaft H! in the same manner as previously described with reference to Fig. 1. Incidentally this snap movement of the parts to the right causes the head 4| of the link 40 to swing sharply to the opposite end of the slot 43 thereby completing approximately three-fourths of a revolution, while the gear 44 has completed only slightly more than one-fourth of a revolution. Thereafter continued cranking movement operates to rotate the gear 44 through the remaining threefourthsof its cycle while the head 4| of the link 40* is moving through. the remaining one-fourth of its cycle, the difference in the lengths of the arcuate movements being made possible by virtue of. the length of the slot 43. During this final one-fourth movement ofv the link 40, the sector I I is of course returning from its extreme righthand position to the central position indicated in Fig. 3, such return being facilitated by spring 34 and being effected without any opposition from the engine crankshaft l4 in view of the over-running clutch action previously described with reference to Fig. 1.

There is thus provided a novel engine starting mechanism which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and capable of ready installation on a variety of existing engines without material alterations therein. It is of course to be understood that the principles of the invention may be embodied in structures varying in form from either of those above described in detail. Thus, for example, if it is desired to limit the amount of torque applicable to the engine crankshaft, or to provide a greater degree of freedom from shock on the teeth of the gears, either a torsion spring of the type used in the Eclipse Bendix drive, or a torque limiting friction clutch of any suitable construction may be interposed between gear I 3 and the engine crankshaft. Likewise other changes, additions or substitutions may be made as hereinabove suggested or as desired to meet special conditions occurring in certain installations. Reference will therefore be had to the appended. claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a driven member to be rotated, means for imparting stored energy to said driven member in successive impulses, said means comprising a resilient member mounted to oscillate as a pendulum, and means for drivably connecting the oscillating end of said resilient member to said driven member.

2. In a device of the class described, a shaft to be rotated, a gear on said shaft, a toothed member constantly meshed with said gear, means for storing energy by movement of said toothed member in one direction, which energy is subsequently transferred to said gear and shaft upon movement of said toothed member in the opposite direction, and means for causing said gear to revolve freely on said shaft during movement of said toothed member in said first direction, said means comprising an over-running clutch mechanism interposed between said gear and shaft and adapted to drivably connect said gear and shaft during rotation of the former in one direction only.

3. In a device of the class described, a shaft to be rotated, a gear on said shaft, a toothed member constantly meshed with said gear, means for storing energy by movement of said toothed member in one direction, which energy is subsequently transferred to saidgear and shaft upon movement of said toothed member in the opposite direction, means for causing said. gear torevolve freely on said shaft during movement of said toothed member in said first direction, and lost-motion means for governing suchtransfer of energy.

4. In apparatus of the class described, in combination with a member to be driven, a one-way lclutch member operatively connected to said driven member, and a pendulous resiliently mounted member adapted to operatively engage and rotate said clutch member.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a member to be driven, a member operatively connected to said driven member and adapted to drive the latter in one direction only, a pivotally mounted member adapted to engage and. rotate said. second named member upon movement about its pivot, meansincluding a manually rotatable member for swinging said pivotally mounted member in one direction about said pivot, and resilient means for swinging said member in the opposite direction to drive said driven member.

6. In apparatus of the class described, in combination with a member to be driven, a one-way clutch member operatively connected to the driven member, and a. pendulous member operatively connected to said clutch member to drive the driven member in response to a rapid oscillatory movement thereof.

'7. In apparatus of the class described, a member to be rotated, an oscillatory member, and a means including a single rigid link operatively connected to said first-named member to first store energy in said oscillatory member and to thereafter cause the transfer of such energy to said first named member, the storing action being completed prior to imparting any movement whatever to said first-named member.

8. In apparatus of the class described, a member to be rotated, secured to a relatively stationary part of the engine, a means including a single rigid link operatively connected to said engine member to first store energy in said oscillatory member and to thereafter cause the transfer of such energy to said first named member, and a one-way driving connection for preventing any movement of said first named member until the energy storing action has been completed.

9. In a device of the class described, in combination with a member to be rotated, an overrunning clutch member operatively connected to said first named member, a pendulous member adapted to operatively engage and rotate said clutch member, and manual means for rotating said clutch member in theoverrunning direction and at the same time storing the operating energy in said pendulous member.

10. In a device of the class described, in combination with a member to be rotated, an overrunning clutch member operatively connected to said first named member, a pendulous member adapted to operatively engage and rotate said clutch member, and manual means for rotating said clutch member in the overrunning direction and at the same time storing the operating energy in said pendulous member, such storing action being completed prior to any rotation of said clutch member in the cranking direction.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination with a member to be rotated, of a pendulous member adapted to operatively engage and rotate said first named member, and resilient means constituting the sole support for said pendulous member.

12. In apparatus of the class described, a driven member to be rotated, means for imparting stored energy to said driven member in successive impulses, said means comprising a member mounted to oscillate as a pendulum, and means for drivably connecting the oscillating end of said member to said driven member.

13. The combination, with a shaft to be driven, of means including a rotatable element for driving said shaft, means for storing energy by movement of said rotatable element in one direction, which energy is subsequently transferred to said shaft upon movement of said rotatable element in the opposite direction, and means for causing said rotatable element to revolve independently of said shaft during movement of said element in said first direction, said means comprising an overrunning clutch mechanism adapted to'drivably connect said element and shaft during rotation of the former in one direction only.

RAYMOND P. LANSING. 

